


Blood and Water and All That

by LiterallyThePresident



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Found Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-16 20:40:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13061748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyThePresident/pseuds/LiterallyThePresident
Summary: The gruff lasat mercenary and the timid defector. An unlikely friendship, but somehow it works.





	Blood and Water and All That

Humans were so blasted clumsy with their tiny feet.

Zeb was just trying to get to his bunk so he could shower and go to sleep. He’d had a long day, and he did _not_ need some rando human to trip in front of him and dump an entire drum of oil on him. The oil seeped into his fur unpleasantly, and Zeb glowered at the one responsible, baring his teeth and growling a little.

“I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you, and I...” the human scrambled to his feet, quailing as Zeb drew himself up, seeming to shrink in on himself as Zeb stood taller. He gave the man his most terrifying glare, feeling satisfaction at how obviously petrified he was.

“You need to watch where you’re going.” Zeb growled as he brushed past, thinking privately that the timid young man would likely be dead in a week.

—-

He was surprised when he ran into the human again not two days later. He stopped Zeb in the hall, hands shaking but shoulders squared. Zeb could practically hear his internal pep talk as he tried his best to look him in the eye.

“I-I wanted to apologize for bumping into you.” he said nervously, “And for getting oil all over you.” Zeb considered holding it over him, but decided that the man looked frightened enough.

“I’m not mad about that anymore.” he waved his concerns away, “Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh. Oh thank the stars.” the man’s shoulders slumped with relief, “I was worried you’d kill me.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” Zeb said, a little weirded out by the way the human smiled brightly at him, “So if that’s out of your system, I’ll just...”

“I’m Bodhi.” Karabast, his eyes were huge. Like a mooka pup in the headlights. Like Sabine when they’d first found her. Zeb wasn’t sure how he’d missed it before, “Bodhi Rook.”

“...Garazeb Orellios.” he grudgingly gave his name, eying him critically. He was a slip of a man, tiny and dark with skinny wrists and posture that spoke of major confidence issues. Zeb could kind of understand why he’d been so afraid of him before. He looked like he’d been pushed around his whole life.

“I saw your ship.” Rook continued, apparently chatty now that the threat of death was gone, “It’s beautiful. She looks like she’s seen some amazing battles. Could I ask you some questions about it? Uh, sir.” One look into those hopeful brown eyes and he found himself agreeing before he even registered that he had. Rook beamed, launching into a spiel about ships that Zeb honestly kinda tuned out. He resumed walking, resisting the urge to kick himself for being so nice when Rook fell into step beside him.

Blast those eyes. Blast himself for always picking up strays. And blast the human for reminding him of his sister.

—-

Bodhi was, to Zeb’s surprise, not bad for a former Imperial. He wasn’t loud or arrogant, though he could stand to show a little more spine in Zeb’s humble opinion. He was an excellent listener, and always seemed to know just what to say to lift his spirits, especially when no words were needed.

In addition, they had more in common than he’d initially thought. Both of their homes had been taken by the Empire, both had families well known in the Resistance, both loved ships and weaponry, and both of them had been decked at least once by Jyn Erso. They bonded, making one of the oddest duos in the base. Zeb’s strength and size seemed to make Bodhi feel secure, where Bodhi’s gentleness and sincerity gave Zeb hope in this dark galaxy.

Three days into their friendship, Cassian Andor started glowering at him from across the mess hall. Six days in, Ezra and Sabine teased him about their “new replacement.” Two weeks in saw Jyn Erso threaten to wear him as a coat should any harm come to Bodhi on his watch. A month had Hera and Kanan inviting Bodhi to dinner and treating him as family. Try as he might, Zeb found couldn’t bring himself to be annoyed.

—-

“I lost my home too.” Bodhi said deliriously as Zeb trudged through the jungles of Endor, Bodhi’s head hastily wrapped in makeshift bandages and eyes alternating between focused and hazy. Zeb held the human securely to his chest, being careful not to jostle his broken leg and bruised ribs too much.

“Yeah, I heard.” Zeb said gruffly, wishing for the fifth time in an hour that they hadn’t been shot down, that Bodhi hadn’t hit his head in the crash, that Zeb hadn’t just barely managed to pull the unresponsive human from the wreckage before it exploded, that he wasn’t stuck trudging through a hot jungle with a heavily concussed human in his arms.

“Not as badly as you, though.” Bodhi mumbled, “It went slow. Yours went supernova, but mine became a black hole.”

“Andor’s gonna kill me for this, I hope you know that.” Zeb grumbled, anything to stop his rambling, “He’ll blame me, I know he will. You better tell him I saved your arse.”

“No.” Bodhi said softly, drawing the word out, “Cassian’s wonderful. He’ll understand.”

“Uh-huh.” Zeb rolled his eyes, shouldering a thick branch aside, “Listen, you’re great and all, but your team is beyond scary.”

“Yours too. Cassian warned me to be careful of you, you know.” Bodhi said in an exaggeratedly hushed tone, as if sharing a secret.

“Did he now?” Zeb’s eyes narrowed, “And why is that?”

“Because you’re dangerous.” Bodhi giggled, “And your crew is dangerous. But joke’s on him, he’s dangerous too.”

“Do I need to have a word with Andor about prying into other people’s business?” Zeb asked, earning a small sound of protest from Bodhi.

“He’s just trying to protect me.” he yawned, blinking confusedly as if surprised by it, “He thinks he needs to protect all of us. He’s so... protective.”

“And nosey.” Zeb scoffed, knowing damn well Andor’s special attention didn’t extend to anyone outside of Bodhi and Kaytoo.

“And gorgeous.” Bodhi giggled, “But don’t tell him I said that. Don’t tell Zeb either, he’ll make fun of me.”

“If this is you injured, I’d hate to see you drunk.” Zeb shook his head, ears perking up as that sound of their approaching rescuers reached them. Bodhi leaned his head into his shoulder in a bizarre armless hug as Zeb complained about how long they had taken to get here.

“You can whistle really loud, you know that?” he said fuzzily.

“Karabast, kit.” Zeb huffed, “I’m literally begging you to be quiet.”

“Kay.” Bodhi yawned again, obediently shutting up as the rescue shuttle landed.

—-

Ezra and Sabine finally met Bodhi about five weeks after their odd friendship began, and of course Zeb regretted everything as soon as they opened their mouths.

“He’s adorable.” Sabine nudged him, making no effort to be discreet, “Like a loth kit. Where’d you pick him up and can I get like five?”

“Sabine, I know you and Ezra did a background check the moment I said he was my friend.” Zeb grumbled, “Don’t act like this is the first time you’ve seen him.”

“Is he single?” Ezra asked, giving Bodhi that half-lidded gaze he often used to charm information out of targets. Bodhi flushed brightly, stammering out a nervous response that had Zeb rolling his eyes.

“Ezra, seriously?” he grumbled, picking him up by the collar and setting him a respectable distance away from the blushing Bodhi, “Ixnay on the assian-cay.”

“I don’t speak lasat.” Ezra grinned cheekily, “But whatever. I wouldn’t want to step on Andor’s toes, anyway.” Karabast, sometimes Zeb really hated his information network. Having the Resistance’s top spymaster as a brother definitely had its pros and cons, sometimes more con than pro.

“Banthashit.” Sabine snorted, “You love stepping on his toes. You do it all the time.”

“He’s so easy.” Ezra grinned, “And he’s so scared of us.”

“U-Um...” Bodhi seemed at a loss for words, unable to figure out what to make of the strange duo. It was an unfortunately common thing with those two.

“These are my siblings.” Zeb sighed, “They’re tiny and they bite, but I celebrate our differences.”

“I resent that.” Sabine laughed, “I’m taller than Ezra.”

“By a few _inches_.” Ezra stressed, “And your hair makes up at least one of those!”

“My poor little brother, jealousy is so unattractive.” Sabine patted his head, winking at Bodhi, “Poor thing, he’s never been the same since Zeb threw him like a football at a TIE fighter because he was the smallest.”

“I can have you killed at any time, famously unbeatable Resistance duelist or not.” Ezra grumbled. Bodhi’s eyes widened at that, but Sabine’s laugh quickly put him at ease.

“So can Hera, you’re not special.” Sabine said, a smile tugging at her lips, “Don’t worry, your little assassins are adorable, I’m sure Bodhi thinks so too.”

“You won’t be laughing when your jetpack suddenly malfunctions midflight.” Ezra threatened, not even trying to fight his own smile, “Bodhi, you think I’m scary, right?”

Bodhi managed a nervous but genuine laugh, and Zeb finally began to relax.

—-

“I want to apologize to you.” Cassian Andor stood before him, arms crossed and face stony. Zeb couldn’t help but think he looked like a man with a blaster to his head.

“Yeah, you look like you’re really torn up inside.” Zeb snorted, causing Andor’s eyebrow to twitch, “Apologize for what?”

“For trying to convince Bodhi to stay away from you.” Andor said, looking like he’d swallowed something unpleasant.

“Worried I’d steal your man with my irresistible charm?” Zeb had to needle him a little. He had to. Ezra was right, the man was so easy to needle. Andor clenched his fist like Zeb was testing his patience, pinching the bridge of his nose with a sharp exhale.

“Look, I-“ he sighed, “I like Bodhi. A lot. And I worried at first that you would bring him harm. But I am beginning to see that I was wrong.” he straightened, looking Zeb in the eye, “I am sorry for the way I’ve been acting. It was beneath me.”

“Forget about it.” Zeb waved, deciding to be merciful, “It’s fine. He spends half the time trying to convince me that the sun shines out of your ass, anyhow.”

“What?” Andor looked genuinely surprised. It was a look Zeb had never seen on the unflappable spy, “He-He does? What... does he say, exactly?”

“Ask him yourself.” Zeb grinned, “I ain’t telling.” Andor seemed disappointed, but not surprised. Though in his defense, his mind was clearly elsewhere if the thoughtful expression on his face said anything.

“I-I’m glad we had this talk.” Andor nodded absently to him, turning neatly and walking away without ceremony.

“Hey.” he called, making Andor stop and turn back to look at him inquisitively, “Sandbuds.”

“What?” he asked, confused.

“Sandbuds.” Zeb repeated, “It’s Bodhi’s favorite flower.”

Andor smiled then, a soft, gentle thing, and Zeb caught a tiny glimpse of whatever it was Bodhi saw in him.

—-

The swamp was deep and murky, and definitely over Bodhi’s head. It would definitely make rendezvousing with the others difficult, especially since Bodhi had never learned how to swim. He swatted absently at a mosquito as he tried to think of what to do.

“Maybe we could try-ah!” Bodhi yelped as Zeb effortlessly picked up by the collar and deposited him on his left shoulder, making sure he was steady before pressing a hand over his knees to keep him securely in place.

“Zeb?” Bodhi asked, trying not to cling to his head too hard, “A-Are you sure this is okay?”

“I used to carry my siblings like this.” Zeb said with a one-shouldered shrug, “Kanan too. Still do sometimes, if the situation calls for it. They’re all so small, makes it easy.”

“Oh. Well, thank you. Again.” Bodhi said as Zeb waded into the swamp, the water only coming up to his chest. Bodhi bent his knees to avoid getting wet, feeling bad. The water looked cold.

“Don’t mention it.” Zeb said, adjusting his grip across Bodhi’s thighs to steady him when they hit some slippery moss, “Seriously, don’t. The kits’ll get jealous.”

—-

Zeb woke to the sound of a heart monitor and the quiet shuffle of a medbay. He groaned as the various aches and pains began to make themselves known, mostly in his back and legs, though his head was pounding sometimes fierce.

“Karabast, Zeb.” a familiar voice to his right breathed, “You scared the hell out of us.”

“Ugh... Ezra...?” he cracked an eye open, squinting against the harsh medbay lights. Thankfully a curly head of hair quickly blocked it out, blue eyes watery but relieved as they stared down at him.

“Your favorite sibling.” Ezra joked weakly, something fragile in his voice, “Lucky you.”

“Chopper not available?” Zeb shot back hoarsely. Ezra laughed hollowly, his hand, so small compared to Zeb’s, reaching up to stroke his head.

“We thought you weren’t gonna pull through for a minute there.” Ezra said, “You made Sabine cry.” He gestured to the left, and Zeb managed to turn his head. The rest of his family was asleep in the corner, Kanan and Hera leaning against each other with Sabine between them, Chopper standing guard and looking about as pissed off as a droid could get.

“How’d I escape?” Zeb asked. The last thing he remembered was an explosion, a bomb going off as stormtrooper and rebel alike scattered, Zeb scrambling to throw himself over a vulnerable Bodhi before the roof could collapse on him-

“Bodhi.” Ezra said before Zeb could panic, “Bodhi got you out. Dragged you away from the rubble and flagged down a Resistance fighter. He saved your life.”

“ _Bodhi_ pulled me out?” Zeb asked incredulously, “Skittish, defenseless Bodhi? The one with the bird arms?”

“The same.” Ezra chuckled, “Poor guy was freaking out. I’ll comm him and let him know you’re okay in a minute.” Ezra still looked scared, still had that frightened look in his eyes that always made Zeb’s protective instincts rise.

“Are you okay?” he asked, not liking how deep the lines around his eyes were. They tightened as Ezra smiled for him.

“I’m fine.” he said, not quite meeting his eyes, “I will be. Just focus on your own recovery, okay?”

“Alright. Where is Bodhi, anyway?” Zeb asked, finally noticing that the pilot was missing from the group. Ezra huffed a laugh.

“Andor convinced him to leave.” he said, “Good thing, too. He wouldn’t let them treat his wounds until he knew you would be okay.”

“Sounds like him.” Zeb groaned as he caught sight of the hopelessly singed fur of his torso, “But he’s alright?”

“Alright and worried sick.” Ezra sent Bodhi a quick message almost reluctantly, clearly wanting to have Zeb to himself a little longer but unwilling to leave Bodhi hanging. Zeb respected that, vowing to get Ezra something nice next time he went to Lothal.

Bodhi hurried into the medbay within five minutes with Andor hot on his heels, panting as if he sprinted there, worried eyes finding Zeb almost immediately.

“Zeb!” he said, slumping against the doorframe in relief, “You’re okay! Oh, thank the stars!”

“Heard you hauled my arse out of the fire.” Zeb rasped with a smile, scanning him quickly for injuries and noting with interest how Andor’s hands came up to gently steady Bodhi, “Didn’t know you had it in you.”

“I-I was panicking.” Bodhi said, face flushing as he left Andor’s side to sit delicately on the bed beside Zeb on the side opposite Ezra. His arm was in a sling and his face was badly bruised, but he was otherwise unharmed. Zeb felt the tightness of his chest ease some, “I think I was running on adrenaline. I-I-I’m not usually that strong.”

“Glad you were for that brief window, then.” Zeb weakly patted his knee, “Maybe we should put you on the front lines.”

“Please no.” Bodhi laughed, “Just... don’t do that again, okay? I don’t like seeing my friends hurt.”

“You made him cry, Orrelios.” Andor said with a hint of reprimand, though Zeb could see the concern hiding just behind his scowl.

“Should I have just let him be crushed, then?” Zeb frowned, not liking the look on Bodhi’s face. Fragile and scared, like Ezra. He didn’t like it one bit.

“I-I just don’t want you to die for me.” Bodhi stuttered, not seeming to notice Andor’s comforting hand on his bicep, “I can’t watch you die. You’re my best friend.”

“Bodhi-“ But the others had begun to stir at all the noise, and Bodhi seemed to take that as his cue to excuse himself. He blinked down in surprise when a large purple hand gripped his arm and stopped him short.

“Where are you going?” Zeb asked over Sabine’s joyous shout and Hera’s sob of relief, “You’re family too, kit.”

Bodhi would forever deny the tears that came to his eyes at that.

—-

Zeb surveyed the scene before him with a softness he’d once thought himself incapable of. The _Ghost_ was quiet and dim, the living quarters a toasty temperature just this side of cozy, and everyone was fast asleep. Zeb allowed himself a smile, taking it all in and wishing he had his holocamera. Ezra was curled tightly in a ball, a habit he’d never broken, tucked into Kanan’s side with one of Kanan’s hands resting in his hair and the other on Sabine’s knee. Sabine was sprawled out across Hera’s lap with her legs lying across Kanan’s, the twi’lek resting comfortably against Cassian Andor of all people, the agent deeply asleep in a way that Zeb suspected was rare and precious.

And to top it all off, Bodhi was leaning against Chopper’s dome, Cassian’s wrench loose in his hand and Hera’s jacket laid lovingly over his shoulders. Chopper was clearly incensed at the man falling asleep in the middle of his repairs, but he didn’t dare move too much or whomp too loud lest he disturb the sleeping people around him.

“Wake him and I’ll put sand in your next oil change.” Zeb threatened quietly when it looked like Chopper may make a sound at him. The droid shut right up, huffy and annoyed as he pointedly shut down into his own sleep cycle. Zeb chuckled, sitting down next to Bodhi and resting his back against Kanan’s legs. Ezra mumbled something, his hand drowsily dragging itself to rest on Zeb’s head as it’s owner quickly fell back into slumber.

Despite everything, Zeb thought as he leaned into the touch with a sound he’d forever deny was a purr, he couldn’t be happier.

**Author's Note:**

> I figured these two would have an interesting friendship.


End file.
